Visitation
by AngelWithACrookedHalo
Summary: For lack of a better title. Post-game, Rita visits Estelle, who is confused about her feelings. First time writing in Estelle POV. A test story for grammar and writing for Estelle.


**Visitation**

Princess Estellise sighed heavily. She sat in the magnificent flower garden of the imperial capital. It had been a few months after the defeat of the Adephagos, and everyone had gone their separate ways. Yuri, Karol and Judith had gone to make Brave Vesperia a better guild, Raven continued to lead his brigade and work in Altosk, and Rita was elsewhere, pouring her life into her research. Now Estelle was all alone, leashed once again to the castle. Of course, since her whole ordeal was over, she was allowed to wander Zaphias as she saw fit.

Occasionally, she saw her old friends, Raven more than the rest. And each meeting was ended quickly by some appointment Estelle always made up on the spot. She didn't feel very comfortable around the old pervert when she was by herself. Yuri, Repede, Judith and Karol dropped by frequently to tell her of their guild stories. With each visit, Estelle felt lonelier and lonelier. Yuri and Judith seemed to be getting very close, and this panged at the young princesses' heartstrings. She had a small crush on Yuri, after all. It wasn't any big secret. So naturally seeing him that close with Judith didn't help her current mood. It did make her happy to see all her old friends…but not once did Rita show up. Every day, she expected the easily-aggravated mage to show up and brighten up her day. Nearly everything she did was able to cheer Estelle up.

Shaking her head to clear the depressing thoughts of never seeing Rita again, she headed back into the castle. The beautiful arrangement of flowers wasn't enough to cheer her up. Maybe reading would. Estelle did love books after all, and she was smack in the middle of a romance novel. She stopped in her tracks. She placed a hand over her heart. Linking those thoughts…Rita and the romance novel…why did that make her heart speed up? She could feel her cheeks become warm. Was she coming down with something? She shut her eyes tight, trying to clear her mind. She was only able to see the mages pouting face, almost always locked in a frown. Estelle gripped her head, making an annoyed noise.

Just in time to interrupt her thoughts, a loud bang followed by the sound of a small explosion came from the flower garden. Estelle jumped before hurrying to see what had happened. A large, strange machine was laying in pieces amongst the flowers. Thick black smoke rose from the largest bit, which was slightly on fire. Through the smoke, a hunched over form appeared. The figure collapsed to the ground on all fours, coughing violently. A wind blew by, clearing the smoke. The figure was revealed to be none other than Rita herself. She was covered in dirt and ash, smoke rising from her body. She gave a few more coughs before looking up to see an emotionally confused Estelle.

"S-sorry about the flowers…" Rita apologized, straightening herself up. She brushed off her clothes as best she could and put out small embers that threatened to burn the fabric.

"Rita!" Estelle exclaimed, running to hug her friend. She scooped up the young mage in a tight bear-hug. "I thought I'd never see you again!"

Rita's face exploded into a bright red. "L-lemme go!" she protested, struggling to free herself. Estelle only tightened her hold on Rita, nuzzling into her head slightly.

"I missed you sooo much!" she squealed.

Eventually, Rita gave up trying to free herself. She stood there, constricted by the princess, her face glowing red. Eventually, Estelle released her, beaming at the young mage. Rita tried to avoid eye contact with her. It helped her blush dissipate. It was now that Estelle noticed the burning machine behind her.

"Rita, what is that?" she asked, tilting her head slightly.

Rita turned to stare forlornly at her destroyed contraption. "It is…well, was—a flying machine. I'd been working on it for a few months now."

She turned back to face Estelle and immediately jumped backwards half a step. The princesses baby blue eyes twinkled with awe, her hands clasped up by her chin.

"Wow, that's so cool!" she said in amazement.

"Not really…it's all broke now. Damn…" Rita kicked a piece of smoldering metal with her boot.

"You're not hurt, are you?" Estelle asked, gripping Rita's shoulders.

She began a quick examination, causing Rita to blush harder.

"G-git off me!" she yelled, pushing herself away.

She saw the hurt look in Estelle's eyes and froze. "I-I mean…I'm fine," she stuttered, fighting back her rising blush.

Estelle perked up immediately. She let out a happy noise before taking Rita's hand. "There's so much I wanna ask you! How have you been? Where are you living? How's the mana research going?" The questions flew out of the excited princesses' mouth like machine gun bullets. Rita was buffeted with them all, her head spinning. Estelle noticed the overwhelmed expression on her face and went silent. "Sorry…" she apologized with a small smile.

Rita's facial expression softened. She smiled back at the princess. "Ehh…It's alright,"

"Would you like to come inside? It is a little chilly out. Well, I'm a little cold. Are you cold, Rita?" Estelle placed her hands before her and smiled warmly at her friend. The simple action was regarded as innocent. However, it enlarged the small cleavage she bore through the pale blue dress she adorned.

The young mage looked distracted. Her gaze seemed fixated on Estelle's neck. The princess couldn't imagine why. Didn't people look each other in the eyes? Estelle tilted her head. She wondered if Rita was getting ill. Her face was red after all. Estelle pouted slightly and took her friends hand. "Come on. I think we have some medicine!" She started marching into the castle, dragging a confused Rita behind her.

"M-medicine? Why the hell would I need medicine?" Rita yelled, trying to free herself from Estelle's iron grip. It was to no avail.

The pink-haired teen slowed to a stop. "Your face was red. Doesn't that mean you're sick?" To double-check her quick diagnosis, she gently pulled Rita a bit closer, lifted her bangs and pressed her forehead to hers. This caused the blush on Rita's face to deepen even further.

"Wh-wh-wh-what are you doing?" the young mage squeaked.

"Checking for a fever," Estelle replied simply, "It doesn't feel like you have one…I think,"

She frowned and closed her eyes, unable to determine the temperature of her friend. It felt like her forehead kept heating up the longer she stayed there. What kind of illness was this? It must be serious if she got that hot that fast. Estelle backed away to examine Rita's face. The mage's green eyes seemed to be spinning in their sockets and her face was as red as her tunic. This was really serious!

"O-oh no! Rita, hang in there!" Estelle stuttered.

She took one of Rita's arms and swung it over her shoulder. She then attempted to run with the dazed mage to the nearest infirmary. However, Estelle wasn't the strongest girl in the world and barely made it seven steps. She started to panic. What if this was a deadly illness? What if she didn't make it to the correct medical help? What if…what if..?

The princess's eyesight started to blur and the newly formed tears rolled down her cheeks. This would be her fault. All her fault. She gasped. What if she was charged with murder? She couldn't prove it wasn't her. Would anyone believe her if she told her end of the story? And if she was a murderer, would that mean that Yuri would end her as well?

"Estelle, can you answer me already?" Rita called.

Estelle felt her body shake. She blinked the remaining tears out of her eyes to find Rita standing before her, her hands on the nobles' shoulders. The red that covered her face before had disappeared. The stunned look was replaced with one of worry. Estelle sniffled and wiped her eyes with lightly clenched fists.

"Oh… you're doing better. I'm so happy," she smiled, clearing the remainder of the tears from her eyes.

Rita sighed and shook her head slowly. She let her arms drop back to her sides. "…I'm not sick, Estelle," she sighed, shaking her head slowly, "…I used to think I was though," she added under her breath.

"Hm? I didn't catch that," Estelle said with a small smile.

"I-it's nothing," she said quickly, her cheeks turning pink.

Estelle took notice of this and tensed up. She relaxed however and smiled. "I was just really worried about you. I thought you were dying,"

Rita blinked and gave Estelle a strange look. "Dying? I'm not dying,"

"But…but your face was all red and your eyes were all swirly…" she mumbled.

Rita pinched the bridge of her nose and took a deep breath. It had been too long. She had forgotten about Estelle's lack of any smarts that didn't pertain to history. Estelle watched her think and felt a slight weight form in her chest. She knew these were common actions whenever the brunette got annoyed or angry. She had seen those exact motions nearly every time she asked Rita a question or two on their travels.

"I…I'm sorry…" she said quietly, looking down at the floor.

"No, it's not your fault," Rita sighed. She gave Estelle a smile to prove she was telling the truth.

After a short silence, Estelle spoke up. "I'm trying to get smarter," she said peppily, "I want to understand more of what you and Yuri say to me,"

Rita blinked a couple times and sighed again. "…You don't need to be 'smarter'. You're perfect just the way you are," When she realized what she said she looked away with a prominent blush on her cheeks. "Y-you know what I mean," she added quickly.

At first, Estelle didn't understand. She didn't consider herself perfect. But she had read about a similar scenario in one of her favorite fantasy novels. The main character had said something similar to the Bronze Vocalist near the end of the story. She briefly wondered if Rita had read the same book. Oh then what happened…? That's right! The Bronze Vocalist and the main character shared a kiss. She watched Rita nervously. Would that be a good idea? It worked out in the novel, why not now?

Estelle took a couple steps closer to Rita. Her heart pounded against her ribcage. Maybe it was a stupid idea. But something inside her forced her to press on with her little quest. A part of her hoped it was ok. Rita made it very clear that she disliked being touched in any way, shape or form. Maybe she should ask first.

"Hey…Rita?" Estelle asked nervously.

"Rita, who had been frozen by the princess's advancements, stuttered a "Y-yes?"

Estelle bit her lower lip. "Umm…can I kiss you?" The way she asked made it sound so innocent, as if she didn't know what she was talking about.

"Y-you want to wh-wh-what?" Rita asked, inhaling sharply. Her face flushed a deep red. "Wh-wh-why?"

"Well…what you said reminded me of this book and…I wanted to act out the scene," The pink-haired teen answered, "I kind of wanted to anyway. I'd like to know what it feels like,"

"Y-yeah right. Wouldn't you rather kiss Yuri?" Rita huffed, her blush even more prominent than it was before.

Estelle tilted her head. "I…I donno," She replied.

"There, see? S-so don't say stupid things like wanting to k-kiss me," The mage said matter-of-factly.

Estelle puffed out her cheeks. It wasn't a stupid thought. In fact, the mere thought of it made her heart race like never before. The emotion was foreign to her. Yet it felt so familiar. She was determined to find out why now. Once Estelle got determined there was no stopping her. She stomped her heeled foot on the floor and clenched her hands into fists.

"I want to find out though!" she whined.

"Find out what?" Rita snapped.

Estelle exhaled sharply and leaned in a bit closer to the mage to make her point. "I want to find out why my heart beats faster when I talk to you. And why it makes me really happy. And I think the answer is in a kiss…so let me do it!"

She felt her face heat up as she blurted out her reasoning. She didn't mean to say all that, did she? It wasn't true…was it? All this confusion could be settled in that one action. If she could just do it!

She watched Rita look around, as if making sure no one was looking. The brunette looked back at the princess with a red face and stuttered, "F-fine. Just…make it quick."

Estelle's face lit up. She nervously bent down slightly to get to Rita's height. She hadn't grown that much in however long it had been since they had last seen each other. Estelle wasn't too sure what to do. She took a wild guess and placed her hands on Rita's forearms to hold her steady. Not that it was needed. Estelle could feel just how rigid Rita was from her light touch. Now, how did a kiss go? She recalled the motions from every romance novel she read in her life. And with that, she closed the gap between them and planted her lips on the mages.

It was a wonderful feeling for however long the fleeting moment lasted. Estelle found herself wanting and craving more, but pulled away. This was a bit much and she didn't want to scare her friend away for good. She looked nervously between her friend and the floor, unsure of what to do next. The minutes ticked by in an awkward silence. Estelle fidgeted with her dress. That was the wrong thing to do, wasn't it? She began regretting thinking about it in the first place. Come to think of it, she didn't know how long the whole thing lasted. Her panic was cut short.

"I-is that all?" Rita stuttered. The tough front she put up was betrayed by her shaking body and bright red face.

"I…I think so," Estelle said quietly. She looked down at the floor, her own face gradually turning a bright red. She placed a hand over her chest in hopes of calming her racing heart.

The silence between grew ever longer, enveloping the two females in a blanket of awkwardness. Estelle shut her eyes tightly. She had to say something. Anything. She briefly wondered if making her own decisions was a bad idea. If only Yuri didn't bully her into decision-making! Something small and warm pressed itself onto her and Estelle opened her eyes. Her eyes met with the top of the mages brown locks. She blinked a couple times and looked down. Rita had pressed herself into Estelle's body, her gloved hands gripping the sides of the princess's dress lightly. Though Estelle couldn't see her face, she could feel the warm blush emitting off of it.

"…Rita?" Estelle asked nervously, unsure of what to do.

There was a few more seconds of silence before the young mage spoke up. "Thanks for that…" she mumbled, "I mean…it's probably not what you want, but it's what I wanted for a while," She tightened her grip on Estelle's dress. "And that sounds really stupid but…" Rita pulled off Estelle and turned her back to her. She took a deep breath and turned slightly. "…Wanna get some food? I have to rebuild my machine. I can't think on an empty stomach."

She put a half forced smile on her face. Estelle stepped forward and took the other girls hand in hers. "Alright. Let's go together," she smiled.

Estelle squeezed Rita's hand gently. She looked over at her with a smile and some other unknown emotion. The mage silently returned the feelings with a squeeze of her own as the two began to walk down the beautiful hallways of Zaphias' castle.


End file.
